Former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan passes away in Bengaluru

Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, one of India's foremost space scientists and a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), passed away at his residence in Bengaluru on Friday. The 84-year-old had been unwell for quite some time.

"Dr K Kasturirangan left for heavenly abode this morning at 10:43 am at his residence in Bangalore," ISRO said. He is survived by two sons. Kasturirangan was the project director of the country's first two experimental Earth observation satellites, Bhaskara-I and II. He later steered the development and launch of IRS-1A, the first operational Indian remote sensing satellite.

He led ISRO as its chairman from 1994 to 2003, overseeing milestones such as the operationalisation of PSLV and GSLV launch vehicles, and the launch of multiple INSAT and IRS satellites. His tenure also laid the groundwork for future missions like Chandrayaan-I and Astrosat. He had won many accolades including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.